sunhill

I think you have an excellent point here! I prefer 8 hr shifts and prefer the 3-11 shift, which has been pretty much eliminated in my area (SW Florida). As a result, I am taking a huge (50%) paycut to work in a Doctor's office so I can have a schedule that won't kill me! I read a recent article about novel approaches to the nursing shortage and saw that some hospitals are offering "mother's hours"- shorter shifts with more flexible start times. They are reportedly having good success at recruitment and retention by doing so. I know many nurses who love the 12 hour shifts, but the benefit is always framed in terms of having more time away from work... What about having a rewarding and successful time when you are at work? I wonder what the error rate is between 3pm and 7pm, or 3pm and 7am at those hospitals that have all 12 hr shifts running from 7 to 7... I wonder how the patients feel at those times if they need something extra.... just a thought!

Thanks for the tip, Mrs LePew. I will certainly check into it. I'm glad to know that many like the 12 hr shifts, and it's not being imposed from the outside. They had some nurses working 12 hr shifts in the last hospital where I worked in VT. Those of us who worked 3-11 found that we were often working with nurses who were exhausted and didn't want to do anything except leave early! I certainly understand the draw to a 3 day work week. I have always kept my expenses low enough that I could work part time- generally 3 eve shifts a week.

Thanks for this post, Phil. I'm wondering if it has yet affected any readers here. Can they really now mandate overtime at regular pay rates? Is there a limit to it? Has anyone experienced this yet? (I'm voting against GW, too.)

I just moved to SW FL from Vermont and am dismayed to discover both that there are no Psych RN jobs anywhere, and that the 3-11 evening shift seems to be a thing of the past here. Do you all like working those 12 hour shifts? Any other nurses out there who miss the evening shift? Also, any tips on Psych nurse jobs in the Venice area?